pbizzle

Yeah, but I don't know how appetizing this would look either lol. (originally posted by Smokinal, I just copied and pasted his original post from here http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/143322-why-would-someone-use-a-mouse-bait-again/ ) Caught this guy on Sunday

I've got a few questions about freshwater eels. How common are they and where is their range? I've heard that they're what a bass thinks a big worm is, so I'd think that they're pretty abundant just about everywhere. How often do bass eat them? Are they a typical forage species or one of the more uncommon prey species like rats? What are their natural colors? I imagine that they're all black, gray(like a bluecat), dark green (green pumpkin), or maybe brown, but maybe I'm wrong. Any input is much appreciated. I'm sure WRB knows a thing or two about this.

I got mine fairly quick, in fact I bought a Veritas 2.0 that I need to send in my recipet to get another. It's a freaking sweet hoody though! You'll love it!

I see where your coming from and everything, but I don't think I'd sell your equipment because I really don't see it going for much right now. It's not that you have bad gear or anything, but not many people want anything to do with anything Qauntum below the Smoke models because of all the issues they've had in the past. Honestly they make pretty good tackle now, but they left a bad taste in people's mouths a few years ago that makes everyone reluctant to pick anything up below the Smoke series, and ESPECIALLY if it's used. Maybe if you had an older model Accurist you'd get a little more, but I don't see the current white models getting anywhere close to the same reviews. The other problem you'll face is the fact that people are picking up the first gen Veritas for $50 a piece, and the history of breaking Abu rods have. If you buy it used you don't get a warranty. You also mentioned that you had a few baits, but unless it's a lot of Rapalas or Lucky Crafts they'd be pretty tough to sell outside of the Bassresource Flea Market. So I personally don't see you getting much more than about $40 - $50 for the combo, and MAYBE $60 if you're lucky. That's half of what you're expecting, and although I'm not too knowledgeable about it, I don't see that going very far in the world of motorcross. I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything just practical. I hope for the best no matter what choice you make though.

Yeah I didn't mean anything by it. I figured that you were an American anyway.

Dude, that's messed up... there's a much better, less cruel, answer to this problem. ...coming from the guy in Mexico

I use chigger craws on my football jigs a lot, and after a few fish eating it they'll start to get ripped up. Once you try to remove a ripped trailer from a jig, and then put it back on it's pretty much just destroyed. That's why instead of removing them I'll just leave them on. That's just with football jigs though. I don't really have that problem with other jig types.

Yes! I remember talking to an BASS pro (can't remember which one) who actually taught me something really cool that has made a BIG difference in my worm fishing. He recommended that I change the tone of you're worm based on the light availability. For example, say you start fishing a Junebug colored worm early in the morning (low light conditions). As the sun starts coming up around 8:00 and there's a little more light availability, you should lighten up to say a Plum colored worm. That'll usually be good for the rest of the day (imo), but if you start getting less bites around noon (most light avalibilty) then you can lighten up to a Red Bug worm or something. Then you can just reverse that as it starts getting darker again. You're still fishing the same base color that you've had success on (in this case the base color would be purple), but you're just fishing a lighter or darker tone of it.

Well... yes and no... with a crankbait you really probably can crank it to slow. It at least takes some speed to allow it to dive and wobble. Basically if you crank it too slowly it will look like the ugly hunk of plastic that it is. Now I'm sure somebody's going to say "I was killing them the other day on a crankbait moving at 1" every 10 seconds" or whatever, and while that may be true for the most part yes you can fish a crankbait too slowly. Now I think that jigs and plastics are another story. Dead sticking is actually a really productive technique at times, and you're not even moving it. A lot of old guys like to "stitch" worms, where you move the line with your free hand. If you're doing it right some cast can actually take up to 10 minutes. Now there are days when you can absolutely fish too slowly. Some days the fish only want to eat something that they have to chase. It really just depends on what the fish are doing.

This one was my first "big" fish. Went 4 pounds and 12 ounces. It was really short though!

Thanks! I'm going to get a few of these and some Big O jigs, because I really want to try Siebert's jigs a shot. I'm glad you helped me out WRB. I posted this knowing that you'd be able to provide some good information.

The deepest I'll be fishing is 35' deep. We seem to catch A LOT of bass in the summer stroking a jig, and we usually get more bites with a faster fall rate. So 1 ounce + jigs are best a lot of the time. I also like to fish a 3/4 to 1 ounce football most of the time (except prespawn and winter when a 3/4 ounce is as heavy as I'll fish, and that's rare), because I like to have a better feel of the bottom. I would like a larger hook, but that's just for my personal confidence. I've gotten a lot of my trailers back with tooth marks right behind the hook, and while I know it was probably just a small bass or a bite I didn't feel, I still like my hook to have a longer shank when I'm using larger trailers. It's the same reason I won't use anything smaller than a 5/0 with a 10" worm.

Who makes a big giant football jig? I know it's not really tome for huge lures, but I'm already wanting to start stocking up for next year. I always seem to catch pigs in deepwater on jigs, no matter what time of year it is. This year I want to try going bigger for deeper water. Most 1/2oz-1oz football jigs seem to come with a 2.5" to 3" skirt, and about a 4/0 hook. I'm looking for some BIG football jigs in the 3/4oz-1.25oz range. I don't really know the exact size that I'm looking for, but I want one that will accommodate a full sized brush hog, 5" chigger craw, or a rage tail lobster. I know that I can fish baits this size on a regular jig, because I have with success, but I'd like a larger skirt for a bigger profile and a larger hook (for confidence). Something like I read about guys down in Mexico using. Any reccomendations?

Sucks doesn't it!!!!

I picked up a new Pflueger Supreme MGX 30 Spinning reel…but my mom won't let me have it until Christmas

Well, what do you with your big worms in the winter? I know a lot of guys who put up the big worms in the winter. I also know a lot of old guys that just about always through a big worm, no matter what season it is. So what about you? What do you do with them?

I'd try a 7'MH/F but with a mono or fluoro instead of braid. You'll already be pulling the bait away faster than with a regular crankbait rod because of the fast action, and I think the braid would just be too much. That's just me though. It's still up to you.

H2O Xpress Mettle and H2O Xpress Ethos 7' MH. The whole setup will run about $120, but since you have a job the extra $20 shouldn't be a problem. Probably your best shot for a good deal. Just search this forum for them.

20lb or 30lb can be broken off pretty easily. You'd probably straighten out the hooks before you broke off though.

While that may be true, it's still fun topic to talk about it. If you don't want to talk about it, don't join in. And to answer this question, my average fish is about 2.5. Unless I'm jig fishing then my average fish is about 4lbs. I've actually only caught one dink on a jig this year.

I think I just peed a little...

I'm man enough to say that I'm glad I don't have 10" down there. I imagine it would get pretty heavy and it'd have to make pants fit funny.

Really surprised that no one's mention RiFF RAFF. The man… the myth… the legend… Jody Highroller

Being the pinnacle of health that I am, I try to always keep a balanced diet of Monsters, MoonPies, and jalapeno Cheetos.

If you're willing to look into a casting rod the new Daiwa DX Swimbait Rods seem like they would be pretty sweet. At $109.99 they're reasonable too.